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John "Sonny" Franzese, Sr. (born February 6, 1917 Naples),〔Bureau of Narcotics, Sam Giancana ''Mafia: The Governments Secret File on Organized Crime''.(pg. 454)()〕 is an Italian-born American longtime member and current underboss of the Colombo crime family. Arguably, Franzese has been famous as the current oldest active member of the American Mafia. Franzese is listed as an associate producer of the 2002 film ''This Thing of Ours'', which stars James Caan.〔("LAW AND ORDER; In the Can" ) New York Times November 3, 2002〕 ==Rise in the Colombo crime family== He was born to Carmine "The Lion" Franzese and Maria Corvola, although his birth year is a source of confusion. Federal prison records say that he was born February 6, 1917. However, his son Michael Franzese says that his father was actually born in 1919.〔("A Godfather Betrayed by His Namesake, Part II" ) by Jerry Capeci New York Sun May 17, 2007〕 According to some sources, Franzese was born at sea on the ship that brought his parents to New York.〔("John - Sonny - Franzese" ) La Cosa Nostra Database〕 Raised in New York City, in the late 1930s Franzese joined the Profaci crime family (later named the Colombo crime family) under boss Joseph Profaci. Franzese bore a close physical resemblance to boxer Rocky Marciano, one of his friends. His first arrest came in 1938, for assault. In 1942, in the midst of World War II, he was discharged from the United States Army because he displayed '"homicidal tendencies"〔〔 〕 Although never being arrested for it, court papers accused him of committing rape in 1947.〔 Franzese operated out of New York City and New Jersey and was involved in racketeering, fraud, and loansharking. He is believed to have been elevated to caporegime or captain in the Colombo family in the mid-1950s and by 1964 he had been promoted to underboss. In 1966, Franzese was able to avoid a conviction for murdering a rival and dumping the body into a bay.〔 In 1967, Franzese gained a financial interest in a new recording company, Buddah Records. The company became quite successful, recordings hits for acts such as Melanie Safka, the Isley Brothers, and Curtis Mayfield. Franzese used Buddah to launder illegal mob earnings and to bribe disc jockeys with payola.〔 In March 1967, Franzese was convicted of masterminding several bank robberies.〔("FRANZESE AND 4 ARE FOUND GUILTY; Albany Jury Convicts Them in Bank Robberies" ) New York Times May 3, 1967〕 During the trial, the prosecution produced records claiming that Franzese had killed between 30 to 50 people.〔("Franzese Is Said to Have Killed '30 or 40 or 50' Persons" ) New York Times March 4, 1967〕 In 1970, Franzese was sentenced to 50 years in prison.〔 In 1978, Franzese was released〔 on parole but returned to prison in 1982 for a parole violation. In 1984, Franzese was released on parole again.〔("Board Would Send Franzese to Prison" ) New York Times August 21, 1986〕 Until 2008, he was never charged with another crime,〔 although he would frequently return to jail on parole violations. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Franzese」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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